EU approval of Hong Kong

The European Commission -- the executive arm of the European Union -- has described Hong Kong as one of the freest societies in Asia.

A report by the European Commission says that, two-and-a-half years after the former British colony was returned to China, the principle of "one country, two systems" remains intact and is generally working well.

It says that Hong Kong people are running Hong Kong and doing so effectively -- and it welcomes what it calls the "open and public debate in Hong Kong". The annual report was drawn up under the auspices of the EU external affairs commissioner, Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service